Let's try this again

OK, now that I've learned that when my "blog" asks me if I am sure I want to "navigate away from the page without publishing", I need to say NO, even tho' I thought I had already published post the day before, as I did make a minor photo change...and it needed to be RE-published! Alrighty-then!

Onward, let's see what I can remember...hmmm, the highlights of our visit to Annapolis, perhaps our favorite city so far on the entire journey:

1. The United States Naval Academy: Beautiful grounds, magnificent buildings and architecture, John Paul Jones is buried in a crypt in the chapel...take the walking tour with a guide....their stories are facinating & informative. The list of graduates is VERY impressive...Visiting and learning about this spectacular academy enhanced the respect and appreciaition I already have for the men and women who served and still serve our country.


2. Church Street and State Street: The original town architects designed and placed the state house on a higher hill that the first church. This was done intentionally to stress what was most important to this historic city... Annapolis has always been a political city. It was the Capitol of The United States for 9 months in 1783-1784. George Washington resigned his commission here. The Treaty of Paris was ratified here marking the official end to The Revolution. The state house is the oldest legislative building in continuous use in the country. There are more building on the historic register in Annapolis than any other city in the country.


3. This is truly a "walking" city. We docked our boat in Easton, across the Severn River and walked across the draw bridge into Annapolis. This was about a 5 minute walk. Docking across the river gave us a front seat view of the beautiful city dotted with domes, steeples and spires. Entering the downtown area, red brick streets greet you; flowering baskets hang from every lamp post, narrow alleys originally designed for horse drawn carriages hold surprises around every corner, flags of both the United States and Maryland fly proudly from most homes, the gardens are lovely, an example of the colors they paint their houses are confederate blue with white trim, jet black shutters and cranberry red front doors...


4. At the city dock we envisioned the place where Kunta Kinte first stepped onto American soil. There is a memorial to him and a lovely bronze sculpture, a tribute to Alex Haley, who wrote the book Roots. It is well worth taking the time to walk around the dock and read each plaque. We sat on a bench and ate ice cream cones and watched all the crazy boaters manuvering in this skinny dock.


5. Charles Carroll was the only Catholic to sign the Declaration of Independence. Since Catholics were not allowed to practice their religion until after the Revolution, Charles held mass in a private chapel in his home. We visited the breathtaking church, St. Mary's, which was built on his land. I thought the neatest thing of all was the entire ceiling was a depiction of the heavens on the day the church was completed. An artist painted the stars, moon and constellations of that day! (see photo inset)


6. There were so many boats in Annapolis. Big boats, little boats, sail boats, power boats, trawlers, dinner cruise boats, kayaks, yachts, mega yachts...even pirate ships! Such fun for us to just sit on the back of Ithaka and watch the endless parade.

Well, that just about sums it up. We really enjoyed Annapolis...she really did steal our hearts...we really will go back again someday!